It’s been way too long since we last spilled forth the contents of our burgeoning Mailbag, so I climbed into the hip-waders, pulled on the industrial goggles, and found some self-serving specimens for your time wasting pleasure…

Taking It Roadside

July 20, 2011- Pezman, Outstanding! I’ve been watching the Tour live every day. I’m lucky to have a job that allows me the option to work from home. I’ve been taking advantage of that, and have taken some “time off” to watch Le Tour.

The contenders performance in the Pyrenees was…. heartless… empty… petty marking… Except for Voeckler, that man has trump. Then today to see Bert attack in the rain and then Cadel counter. The good stuff. I’m looking forward to the fireworks I hope are coming. As Mr. Liggett says, “he’s lit the touch paper now.”

Enjoy your Tour. Wish I was there too…all the way to Paris.
– Peter Bushman

Gushing Enthusiasm for Ed
I am a huge fan of PEZ. I have for some time wanted to tell you how absolutely fortunate you and I and all of us are that Ed Hood contributes his posts. The dude is inside and always interesting and has a wit, humor and absolute appreciation for the sport that shines in his stories. They are a must read whereas the coaching and fitness stuff simply lie there like, oh hell I don’t know; some-thing that lies there with much vigor and lust for laying? But I digress.
Big ups to Ed. Daily Distracts, interviews and the PEZ take on the lycra circus are crucial daily reads. Don’t stop.
– John

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You got ya a gem in Ed Hood! Pay the bloke whatever he bloody well wants … just keep him writing!
– JB

PEZ Sez: Like the rest of the guys who’ve helped make PEZ a daily stop for thousands of cycling fans around the world, Ed’s a keeper – but you should see the grappa and cognac chits when he submits in his Grand Tour expense report…

Cheapo’s Contagious
It turns out more than a few readers think like our frugally practical Mr. Cheapo, as his latest offering Cheap-Oh PEZ: Late Summer Edition inspired a stream of emails.

Mr.Cheap O’s….One you might like…Winter training rides. Never ever discard the one wool sock, or the one wool mitten you cannot find a match for. We call it “Frosty” prevention…just a reminder…once you use it stuffing it down the front of your Tights, wash it once in awhile. You can also get a ton of mileage out of a thin Balaclava, or skull cap using it the same way. Tips from fast descents after a long training ride climb…Wear your wind vest next to your skin, and the wet jersey on the out side. Love readin Pez.
– Best Wishes, Les Schroll

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Hello Again Pez,
I propose the following 2 tips for CheapOh:
• Duct tape is useful in case of emergency to MacGyver a road side repair.
To carry duct tape – lightly and compactly – not on 6-inch rolls:
1. Take a 3.5-inch section of brake or gear cable casing from the floor of your bike tool box
2. Wrap duct tape onto casing – a transfer of duct tape from its original fresh roll onto the smaller brake casing (2 feet of duct tape measures 3.5 inches by about a half-inch)
3. Insert into tool kit

Next..
• What to do if you tear the sidewall of your tire? Apply a tire patch on the inside of the tire made from a cutting of a piece of used tire.
1. Take a well-used tire (thin rubber rolling line)
2. Using large scissors, cut a 3-inch (or longer) section across the tire
3. Cut off the bead
4. Use the patch to wrap your spare tube (prevents friction saving spare from pre-use tear in your kit)
5. If you tear the sidewall of your tire during a ride, you then affix the “tire patch” above the air tube holding it in position with….duct tape!

– Laurent Garzon

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Great article, I especially like the St Arnolds bar end caps! A friend of mine used an old St Arnolds tie dye jersey to re-cover an old saddle. He gave me one to put on the bike that I rode in the Houston to Austin MS150 charity ride.

My Cheap-Oh solution to “cold” weather (temps in the 40’s degF – 5 degC is cold in Houston) is to go to the local hardware store and buy a pair of work gloves to put on over my cycling gloves. Lots of selection including leather palms or ones with the gripper rubber for under $20 and they last a long time as well.
– David Bumbaugh
Houston, TX

Ashley’s A StudHere’s Ashley on the Passo Sormano at the 2010 Lombardia. She’s in the PEZ kit.

Every time I read Jered’s articles and see his pictures, I get envious. Not only about the locations he and Ashley get to ride, but also about the fact that Ashley is riding with him – she must be a “stud” (cannot think of another more polite term). I don’t know how fast she it, but I assume she does not slow him down much….

I cannot get my wife to take up riding (though I am sure she would be good at it).
– Mark Young

Advertising Makes The World Go ‘Round
I really love your site but those annoying slide out ads will keep me from visiting in the future. I understand ads are a necessary evil in this world…but do we have to be assaulted at every turn?

Regards,
John Marrocco

PEZ Sez: Hey John – sorry you don’t like the ads. I suppose for some the exposure to quality manufacturers’ wares and great gear ideas is too high a price to pay for all the free content, and one man’s assault is another’s gateway to the next great product to enhance the cycling experience. But PEZ is a commercial enterprise – without the funds to keep it going, and pay meager expenses to the PEZ crew who provide our year round Roadside race coverage, there just wouldn’t be any PEZ. And then who else would serve up 100% original content that really does show a different perspective of pro cycling?

What’s In A Shop?
Very nice article on R&A cycling. I always thought the store behind the website was some massive warehouse. It turns out it is a quaint shop in Brooklyn with a motivated young guy running the place.
cheers,
– Adrian Altura
Long time cyclist and avid PezCyclingNews reader

Daily Distractions Confusing?
Guys, I’m an old geezer, 62, but I do enjoy looking at the Hot Babes feature in Pez, but I’m not sure about how to react sometimes. Hey, a truly hot babe will normally elicit a lusty/lustful reaction from me, and some of the postings do just that, and so “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!” for that. What sometimes confuses me though is when a reader submits a photo of his wife or daughter dressed non-provocatively in a non-seductive manner. I of course can and do appreciate a beautiful woman for her beauty’s sake, but I don’t like the fact I am looking at her in a HOT BABE situation, when, in fact, she is not being portrayed or presented as such…Do you know what I mean? Hot babes are one thing–and wives can be hot babes for sure!–but normally a viewer doesn’t submit a photo of his wife/daughters/mother so that we can all lust after her and think crude or lewd thoughts. I guess what I’m doing is suggesting that perhaps you can somehow change my perspective. If you changed the title of the feature to something less suggestive, maybe it would help. Besides, if it were not for the title Hot Babes, I’d bet that many viewers would submit photos of the women they love. Dennis

PEZ Sez: Hey Dennis – Actually, I’m not sure what you mean, but I’ll offer up some words to hopefully clarify. My take is that a woman’s beauty (or even a man’s I suppose) can be interpreted in as many different ways as there are people beholding said beauty. And the very popular gallery in question is called “Daily Distractions”… not ‘Hot Babes’ – although how you choose to interpret our content is completely up to you.

EUROTRASH Video Clips a Hit!
Hi Pez, I’ve been a long time reader of your website and absolutely love the new addition of all the cycling clips on the EuroTrash! Keep up the great work!
– Anthony Diongzon

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Can I just hit you with a big resounding EFF Yeah!!! for embedding race videos in your EuroTrash editions!?! AWESOME! It’s about time! Thank you!!!
– Todd Flackus

I wanted to write and say thank you for the review of the Zipp 303 tubular wheelset. I cannot express enough how insightful it is and what a tremendous amount it does to convey what makes these wheels different from another wheel. I was impressed by what I had seen about these wheels in general, but your review really cemented things. So much so that I had my local shop order a set for me that I am waiting for as I type this. Thank you for such a well-researched and well-presented assessment of a product. It is so rare that one finds a real deep look at a product in the cycling community. I may end up flatting again at next year’s Tour of the Battenkill, but I feel like my chances will be dramatically reduced with these wheels (and I’ll expend fewer watts as a bonus!) Please keep work like this coming.
– Ted Culotta

Thanks for all of the great photography! You don’t post a lot of shots, but each one really portrays so much emotion, pain, beauty. And oh, I’m not talking about the Distractions which we all love so dearly! Seeing the leg that hit the barbed wire, seeing Thor on his bars…. oh my, your shots are le Tour. Thank you.
– Stephen.

PEZ Sez: One thing I wanted to see more of when I started PEZ was bigger, better quality photos of cycle sport than were being offered at the time. As internet speeds improved, so did the size of photos we could show without clogging up your downloads. We’re fortunate to work with great photographers like Cor Vos and his crew, Darrell Parks, and even our own Jered Gruber who’s really evolved as a photog in the seven years he’s been part of the site, and for sure will continue presenting great photos for your viewing pleasure. We may not show the sheer volume of pics that other places do, but I really feel like one or two great quality photos makes a much stronger impression than an endless gallery of whatever came off the camera.

Richard,
I am surprised you would show the Cor Vos’s picture of Johnny Hoogerland’s tangle with the barbed wire fence in PELOPIC. The mental image of what each person can think up when the thought of riding into a barbed wire fence is presented should be sufficient. Seeing what really can happen to a human body when the two meet probably isn’t necessary. Cor Vos should be ashamed of taking that picture rather then help the man extricate himself. Seeing the skid marks and gouges in the pavement and rocks of Wouter Weylandt’s crash in the Giro was enough to tell me it was a horrific thing. No need to show his lifeless and bleeding body to know that. A person shouldn’t have to be dead to be given some empathy and courtesy. Bicycling is a dangerous and sometimes brutal sport and human error can be catastrophic.
Sincerely,
Dean Clinard
Wheat Ridge, Colo.

PEZ Sez: I certainly agree that some of the images of our sport are horrifying, and I make it a point of avoiding sensationalism for its own sake. We’ve earned a responsibility to report the news of the sport, and I like to let readers decide for themselves what they do and don’t want to look at.

In 1952 Yvette Horner sat atop a Citroлn advertizing Suze in the race caravan, playing her accordion to the delight of fans lining the entire ‘parcour’. She also played on the podium at the end of stages and provided entertainment at the end of stage evening parties. She was the Tour’s ‘accordйoniste’ for 11 years. Quite the feat considering women were not allowed to follow the race in official organizer’s vehicles until 1979. She also played at various Sixes during this period.

Here’s a model of her 1955 ride …. if you’re into collecting.
– Rйmi Dubй

Toolbox: Perspective
I just wanted to compliment you on what was possibly one of the best cycling articles I have read, Finding perspective. With some minor modifications, the article could have been written about me as well — even the soccer goalie part.

Finding satisfaction in sport has always eluded me even though I work fairly hard and smart at it. Even though I am successful by many measures in life, I am bothered by this one aspect that I cannot seem to conquer, and the fact that there is always someone (or many someones) out there who are just plain better than I am. Maybe one of these days I will stop and realize that 1) I have achieved some degree of success if I stop and think about it, and
2) other things in life are more important.

So – thanks! It helps to know that I am in good company with all these struggles.

-Mariano

And Time For A Negroni!
Ever since I read this article a few years back, I have made it a point to get a Negroni when I have the opportunity. The bartender’s reaction is usually only one of two responses: “How do you make it?” or “That’s a good old school drink”. If I am in an Italian restaurant with a bar, then it is the second response, most other places I have
to give instructions. I make them at home when the weather gets hot, because there is nothing tastier than one of these beauties while sitting on my deck and relaxing.

Thanks for the drink!
– Eric Hallander

Pez Sez: Thanks to everyone for writing – and reading – and enjoying a cocktail. As we come up on our 10 Anniversary, the fact that none of us would be doing this if it weren’t for all you readers who’ve followed and supported us – and our advertisers over the years. I thank you all for that. We do try to respond to most of the emails we get, but our time is taken up with producing our content, which leaves less we’d like for corresponding with readers.

Gotta Comment?
If you’ve got a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send us an email and we might just publish you in glorious pixelated black & white! Letters may be edited for grammar, spelling, length or just to make ‘em better.